I think it is OK – Carlos Alcaraz plays down US Open injury fears

By Jonathan Veal, PA, New York

Carlos Alcaraz has played down any injury concerns ahead of the US Open after twisting his ankle in a practice session on Saturday.

The Spaniard is gunning for a third successive grand slam title after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, but had to stop his session with Francisco Cerundolo.

Alcaraz rolled his left ankle when he was stretching for a ball on his backhand wing and left the court after a quick chat with his team.

But he says it is not a big issue and he is not worried about being unable to play.

“I think it is OK. I just stopped my practice just for precaution,” he said.

“I didn’t feel comfortable enough to keep practising just in case if everything is going to be worse.

“But after a few hours, I am still feeling good, my feet, so tomorrow I will try to be practising again 100 per cent without thinking about it, but today I’ll take care about it.

“I wasn’t worried at all for my US Open participation. Obviously I was angry because I don’t want to stop the practice, just to respect Cerundolo as well.

“I don’t want to stop any practice. I want to practice, I want to get better, I want to get ready for the tournament.

“But honestly with the ankle, I wasn’t worried about that. So I’m sure that tomorrow or in two days I’m going to be at 100 per cent, for sure. It’s about time.”

Alcaraz is set to continue his enthralling rivalry with Novak Djokovic, who won their last match to seal Olympic glory in Paris earlier this month.

Djokovic is aiming for a record 25th grand slam having won his 24th in New York last year.

Along with Alcaraz, one of his main contenders for the title will be world number one Jannik Sinner, who comes into the tournament shrouded in controversy after escaping a ban despite two failed anti-doping tests in March.

Many questions have been raised about the handling of Sinner’s case, particularly how quickly it was resolved, and Djokovic, a staunch advocate of players’ rights, want the episode to be a learning tool for the sport’s governing bodies.

“There is a lot of issues in the system,” he said. “We see lack of standardised and clear protocols. I can understand the sentiments of a lot of players that are questioning whether they are treated the same.

“Hopefully the governing bodies of our sport will be able to learn from this case and have a better approach for the future.

“I think collectively there has to be a change, and I think that’s obvious.

“Many players – without naming any of them, I’m sure you know already who these players are – have had similar or pretty much the same cases where they haven’t had the same outcome.

“And now the question is whether it is a case of the funds, whether a player can afford to pay a significant amount of money for a law firm that would then more efficiently represent his or her case.

“I don’t know. Is that the case or not? That’s something really I feel like we have to collectively investigate more, to look into the system and understand how these cases don’t happen, how we can standardise everything so that every player, regardless of his ranking or status or profile, is able to get the same kind of treatment.”